Those Golden Days
by omgitsdanniie
Summary: "My summers with Sam were so precious." [AU]
1. Chapter One

**AN**: _Starting a new story when I have others that need to be updated is a running trend with me sooo yay! Hope you guys like this. I am not sure how long it will be, that all depends on whether or not people enjoy it and want to see how far I can take this idea._

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Chapter One.

xox

_My summers with Sam were so precious._

_Little things would remind me of the few precious years I had spent with Sam. The smell of summer, the blooming flowers, and especially the fireflies that danced in the evening skies. Leaning against the wooden balcony of my grandmother's home watching the fireflies glow gracefully. The soft breeze blew the scent of the summer flowers and also brought me back to when I first met Sam._

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Mercedes visited her grandmother in the summer, every year, but she would never forget the first summer she had met _him_. It was a beautiful afternoon and Mercedes had wandered off, allowing her grandmother to do the gardening on her own. She didn't really like planting flowers or pulling weeds, but she loved flowers, especially the wild ones, plus, she was bored. The little six year old thought she saw something at the edge of the wooded area that surrounded her grandmother's backyard, so she decided she would follow it, plus what if it was an adorable kitten? Surely it would be lonely if it lost its mother. Mercedes pouted and began her journey, stopping inside to grab a chunk of her grandmother's famous sweet bread, she loved it, so would the kitten, at least she hoped. She tied the bread in a cloth and hurried in the direction that she saw the tiny kitten.

The young girl was pretty good at navigating through the forest, even for her tiny size. She stepped over roots and avoided sharp thorn bushes. She heard the scurrying ahead of her and began to call out. "Here, kitty, kitty!" She sucked her tongue against the top of her mouth making a clicking noise to get the kitten's attention. Though she didn't hear the soft mewing of a kitten, she was determined to find it. It suddenly became darker, as the tree leaves above her head became thicker. She shivered at the sudden change in air, though it was hot the trees provided a cool shelter as well as a cool breeze that rustled the suddenly quiet forest. Frowning, she lost her nerve. The kitten was probably on its way back to its mother now anyway, why else would it be in such a creepy forest?

Mercedes backed up and hit something with her heel and tripped, falling on her bottom. She cried out and lost her grip on the bread filled cloth. "Ouch," She rubbed her rear end as she stood. Her bag was gone. She stood and looked left and right and realized she was lost. Tears threatened to fall from her now blurry eyes. She began to walk in the direction she thought she came from, but the forest didn't get any lighter, and the silence was overwhelming, soon, Mercedes was too scared to move, so she found shelter under a giant tree and covered her face with her arms and began sobbing. She would never see her grandma again, she would be lost forever. The realization of the six year old struck her so hard she began wailing.

"Hey. Would you stop that already?" The voice was gentle although the words, not so much. It stopped the girl in mid-whimper. She inhaled and looked around, wiping her arms free of tears, on her pants. She looked around once more until her teary eyes rested on a tall figure who walked toward her. When the light finally hit him, she could see he was a man, someone that was here to save her. "Y-you found me!" She scrambled to her feet and rushed to him, unable to contain her happiness.

He quickly dodged the young girl's attack, which ended badly for her, she face planted into the tree that the man was just standing behind. The man winced and carefully peered at her to see if she had bloodied herself, but she didn't, she was just passed out. He sat next to her then and waited for her to wake up, pulling the clothed package from his side. He opened it and tore a chunk of bread off and nibbled on it. It was..._sweet_. The girl stirred and he hurried and shoved the piece in his mouth quickly and chewed and swallowed before she opened her eyes.

"Hey, that was mean." She pouted.

"You barely even have a bump. Here." The older male handed the little girl her bread in the cloth without touching her skin.

"Are you here to take me home?" She asked, sitting up and rubbing the not-so-barely bump on the side of her head.

He waited a moment before responding. "I could lead you back to the forest entrance, if you wished."

"Thank you!" She reached out for him, to thank him again and he dodged by rolling away some. "Do not touch me, unless you want to be stuck in the forest forever."

"Why?" She asked, finally noticing that the man was wearing a simple t-shirt and pants, and that he had golden brown hair, but his face was covered by a strange mask.

"If you touch me, I'll disappear forever." He stated. Mercedes's eyes widened. She didn't want that to happen. She didn't want to be here forever! She nodded slowly then. "O-okay."

She hesitated, she didn't know how to thank him. "Want some of my grandma's bread?" She asked.

"I had some already, but if you would offer me some, I would love to have some more."

Mercedes pouted, she guessed that's where her bag went when she took her first tumble. "Okay." She halved the loaf and handed him the bread, her hands under the cloth holding the bread up to him for him to choose which half. He picked up the smaller piece. "Okay, let's go. It's already late, and you shouldn't be here past dusk." She allowed him to lead the way nibbling on the larger piece of the bread.

The two of them made their way out of the forest and the stranger came to a stop at the edge. Mercedes turned and waved to him with a smile. "I'm Mercedes, thanks for taking me home." She placed the rest of the bread down on the ground. She heard her grandmother calling her name and hurried to find her. Her grandmother spotted her running towards her and she exhaled a sigh of relief. She hugged her grandmother who smothered her in kisses and then pulled Mercedes away from her so she could pinch her granddaughter's cheeks. "Don't you ever wander off again without telling me. You could have gotten lost!"

"Ouch,ouch,ouch, I'm sorry, grandma!" Satisfied with her granddaughter's apology she sighed and released her crab pincer grip on the young girl's cheeks. "Go wash up for dinner." Mercedes scampered off towards their house to do as her grandmother told. Sighing, her grandmother stood and looked around before following her granddaughter soon after.


	2. Chapter Two

**AN**:_I am always surprised when people enjoy what I write lol I am glad that so many of you guys are intrigued by this story already. You guys will just have to wait for your questions to be answered, I hope I keep your interests! No spoilers! lol _

_Anyways__ on with chapter two!_

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Chapter Two.

xox

_After that day, I would never be able to forget him, after all, he helped me out of that scary forest. Even as I sit here now, I still remember every moment with him, especially the first summer I spent in the forest with him._

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Mercedes was more determined than ever to sneak away again. The young girl was prepared this time, and brought sweet bread and her grandma's famous cinnamon butter in a small container. Once her grandmother was busy, she snuck off again, heading toward the forest. The young girl wandered around for a little while before she heard his voice.

"I figured you'd return." Although she was expecting his voice, it ,nonetheless, made her jump. She looked around until she saw his figure, who was hiding behind a rather large tree. She smiled.

"You came!" She raised the cloth filled with bread and butter in her hand. "I brought more bread." The figure walked beside her and motioned for her to follow. "You never told me your name." She pouted slightly. He remained silent for a minute, just enjoying her company before responding. "It's Sam." A ray of sun bathed the two in warm light, she glanced up at the masked figure. "Sam." She said smiling. His hair shined in the golden light, as he turned his hidden face down to her. She grinned and continued to walk with him through the forest.

After what seemed like a long time she spoke again. "Why can't I touch your skin?"

"I told you, because I'd disappear."

"Yeah, but why?"

"Because, I'll turn into a big scary monster and eat you!" He raised his hands at her and wiggled his fingertips.

She squeaked and tripped over her shoes, falling down. She winced. "Ouch." She narrowed her eyes at him. "That's not funny."

Sam, on the other hand, was in a fit of hysteria. His arms wrapped around his midsection and he laughed through the mask. Finally Mercedes started laughing with him. When they wiped the tears from their eyes, he had picked up a twig and told her to take it. If he couldn't hold her hand, he could at least hold onto the same stick she was holding onto. Plus, it made it easier for him to lead.

Smiling, she happily took the other end of the stick. "Okay. Where are we going?"

"You'll see." He continued to lead her through the forest. She glanced to her left and thought she saw something move in the brush of the forest, but when she blinked, all she saw was a little bird flying toward the exit of the forest. She blinked, he took her out of the forest?

She peered through the exit, only to see a grassy field, covered in wild flowers. "It's so pretty!" Mercedes giggled and ran ahead of Sam, waving her arms back and forth touching the grass as she ran. Though she couldn't see it, Sam was smiling through the mask, she could hear his occasional chuckling as Mercedes would run in circles around him. Finally she collapsed on the ground and sighed, weaving her fingers through the long strands of grass.

Suddenly she had a mouthful of grass and she sat up sputtering. Sam was laughing again, doubled over. "Hey!" She exclaimed and then tore her own handful of grass and threw it back at him. Most of it was carried away by the gentle breeze that made the flowers and grass dance back and forth, but some of it hit his mask. She stuck her tongue out at him which was an error on her part. He grabbed a tree branch and began chasing her around with it, never hurting her or actually poking her. When both of them were laughing too hard to run, they both gave up and collapsed again on the grassy ground.

While Sam laid there motionless, Mercedes picked at a few wild flowers. They were pretty colors, vivid reds and soft purples, some of them were ivory white. When she noticed that Sam wasn't just being silent, she crawled over to him, ignoring her handful of flowers as she lowered her face close to the mask. "I wonder what he looks like..." Her thoughts trailed off. He had told her that she couldn't touch him with her skin right? Well, touching the mask wasn't actually skin contact...

Mercedes hesitated before she reached her small hands out and grabbed the mask, picking it off of his face. She inhaled softly. He was a normal sleeping person, he looked to be about 17, his skin was flawless and pale, suddenly he opened his eyes. They were a stunning green. Mercedes flinched when he opened his eyes and she slammed the mask back on his face and backed up quickly.

"Ouch!" Sam exclaimed and rubbed his face under the mask. "It's rude to wake someone up so forcefully like that, you know."

She pouted. "You probably weren't even sleeping, were you?"

Sam didn't respond. Which helped confirm that he was indeed, awake the whole time. What a meanie, faking sleeping like that and scaring her. She huffed and then they got up. "Grandma will be looking for me, we should go back now."

Sam hesitated. "Okay..if that's what you wish."

"I'll be back tomorrow though, if you want me to!"

"I would like the company. The snack you brought was delicious too." Mercedes gasped.

"You ate all of that?!"

He grinned through the mask and scratched his head. "Uh, maybe."

She scolded him as if she were her grandmother. "Alright, I'll ask gramma for more tomorrow."

Soon they were on the trail back toward her home, again she saw the flickering of shadows out of the corner of her eye. She glanced but there was nothing. She frowned.

Once she was out of the forest, she turned and looked back at Sam who stood at the edge. "Bye, Sam. I'll see you tomorrow!" She waved and smiled with enthusiasm, and Sam raised his hand back at her, though he didn't say anything, he held a silent smile behind his mask.

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Back at home, Mercedes sat with her grandmother for dinner. Their dinner was unusually quiet, Mercedes was thinking about Sam, and her grandmother was thinking about Mercedes. Finally Mercedes broke the silence. "Grandma can you tell me another story after dinner?" Mercedes' grandmother had always told her stories about spirits who roamed through forests and other fairy tales.

For a moment, Mercedes' grandmother was surprised and then she smiled. "After dinner and after you wash up and ready yourself for bedtime, I'll tell you a story." Mercedes smiled back.

"Okay." She was excited and fidgeted through the rest of dinner. She loved her grandmother's stories. They were always full of adventure and some of them, even romance. When the young girl had showered and brushed her teeth she grabbed her blanket and grabbed her favorite teddybear and curled up next to her grandmother. Her grandmother smiled and cleared her throat.

"A long time ago, back when people believed in many gods, there was one in particular, the forest god. He ruled over all of the forest and protected the animals, but as the forests grew in size, he couldn't watch over them, so he created spirits. All kinds, to watch over the forests for him all around the world. Some spirits were mischievous, and some kind. Sometimes there are tales of abandoned children who come into the protection of the forest spirits. They are raised by the forest as a baby, but as they grow older the magic that protects them gets weaker, and eventually it weakens so much that even a single touch from the outside world can break the spell, and they would lose their human bodies forever," she paused and cleared her throat before she continued, but before that, she looked over at her granddaughter who slept softly against her side.

Her grandmother smiled and picked her up, humming gently to herself, and carried her to her room and laid her down to sleep. That night, Mercedes dreams of hovering shadows and a giant transparent fox, and in the middle of all of the spirits, Sam stood. Unconsciously, Mercedes gripped the teddy bear closer to her.


	3. Chapter Three

AN: _Sorry for the wait!_

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Chapter Three.

xox

_I grew to cherish every day during the summer break, even when we did nothing but walk around. We would talk, well...I would talk, and he would listen, but I didn't mind his silence, because I valued his companionship. _

Mercedes was wearing her favorite sundress. It was a pretty green color that brought out the brown in her eyes. The young girl ran to the forest to meet Sam. Sam, as usual was waiting for her a few feet from the entrance of the woods. "You're here!" She exclaimed, Sam smiled behind the mask he wore.

"Of course I'm here." He said, and offered her the stick he was holding in his left hand. She took the other end and they began their long walk through the forest. "What would you like to do today, Mercedes?"

She shrugged. Honestly, she just enjoyed being in his company. "I don't know." She stated truthfully.

He led her to their secret place. The meadow in the middle of the woods. They sat there staring at the flowers that danced in the soft wind that carried their scent to them. Mercedes inhaled and then exhaled with a deep sigh. She glanced to Sam, who remained emotionless, at least according to his mask. "Why do you wear a mask?" She asked narrowing her eyes at him.

"Well, it wouldn't make sense for me to not wear one."

"Why not?"

"Just because." He said, poking her with a twig. She pouted and then looked at the ground.

"I know! Lets play a game!"

"A game?"

She nodded and leaned against the tree. He glanced to her through his mask and allowed the idea of this game. "Okay."

"You ask a question, I answer and then I ask one," She said.

Well, it seemed simple enough. "What's your favorite color?" She started.

"Blue, what's yours?"

"Red." She said, picking one of the flowers near her knee.

Sam glanced at the flower she was picking at. "What's your favorite kind of flower?"

Mercedes wrinkled her nose. She didn't know names of flowers but her grandmother always talked about lilies. "A lilly." She said. Her grandma always said that lilies were the prettiest of flowers, and if her grandmother thought it, then so did she. "What's your favorite flower?"

"A violet." He said. Mercedes smiled. This game was fun, and they were talking longer than they normally did.

"What's your favorite animal?" He asked her, glancing toward her smiling face. It was infectious, her happiness, he felt himself relaxing and felt the skin tighten around his mouth, into a smile. Mercedes answered almost immediately.

"Cats."

"Why cats?" He asked raising an eyebrow under his mask.

"Because they're cute, What's your favorite animal?"

He paused for a minute, and thought for a while before answering. "Butterflies." He answered.

"Why?" She asked, mimicking him, picking at the flowers petals.

"Because they can fly wherever the wind wants to take them and they haven't a care in the world." He shrugged a little

"Well...cats can go where ever they want, too..." She muttered, letting go of the petals and watching them swirl in the wind.

Sam paused and then chuckled. "I suppose so." He agreed.

"Are you lonely?" The question came so sudden, it sucked the air out of Sam's lungs. Was he lonely? "Sometimes. It can get lonely, but it's nice being alone sometimes."

Mercedes nodded and then smiled. "But now, you have me, right?"

Sam smiled, the urge to pat her on the head was almost unbearable. "You're right." He glanced to the sky. "I'd better take you back now, you're almost late for your dinner." He stood and stretched, he went to grab the branch off of the ground but Mercedes had it in her hand already.

He heaved a sigh and took the end. He wasn't looking forward to returning her, being alone was disappointing, and he found he enjoyed the young girl's company. He wanted her to be around forever, but he knew she couldn't, and probably wouldn't do that. They made their way through the forest, hands on branch.

Sam watched from the edge of the forest as Mercedes made her way toward her house. Her grandmother was waiting for her at the door, and greeted her with a smile, before staring off into the distance, as if she were looking at him. He seemed a bit unnerved and retreated a bit farther into the brush to make sure that he wasn't seen. Again, for the third time he heaved a heavy sigh. Frowning he turned and started walking back to the heart of the forest. He became aware of something walking in step behind him.

He frowned behind the mask. "What is it?"

"The girl is dangerous. She could be the death of you."

"Hardly. She's just a child."

"A child's curiosity is all it takes, Sam."

Sam stopped and turned, looking passed the stranger, back through the shadows of the trees, and watched as the small girl jumped and giggled as she caught glowing fireflies in her hands and presented them to her grandmother.

A faint smile passed his lips and he shrugged. She was right. Even in his home, he was lonely, at least until the lost girl found her way to him. Her companionship was suddenly very important to him and his desire to protect her swelled in his chest. He turned, as the rising fireflies blinked their lights in the fast-coming evening.

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**AN**: _Super short chapter but for a good reason! Next chapter will be longer I promise. Hopefully it doesn't take eight months for the next update..Thank you to those who are still sticking around you guys are great lol_


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